Hundreds of Mecklenburg County mail-in ballots were rejected in the first week of early voting because voters didn’t properly seal an inner envelope inside another envelope.
Mecklenburg County Elections Director Michael Dickerson told WFAE that as of Wednesday, 259 ballots had been rejected for that reason. Of those, just 60 voters had successfully cast replacement ballots or voted early in person.
New guidance approved by the Republican-controlled State Board of Elections last month is driving the rejections. The rule requires voters to seal an inner envelope containing their ballot before placing it inside a larger envelope, which must also be sealed and mailed to election officials…